Method and means for color engraving



April 19, 1966 L. D. BROOKER ETAL 7 METHOD AND MEANS FOR COLOR- ENGRAVING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 16, 1964 LEVEL LAN DBRooKER FLOY L. MORRISON INVENTORS April 19, 1966 L. D. BROOKER ETAL METHOD AND MEANS FOR COLOR ENGRAVING Filed June 16, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

! F i i I 1 lzo g uo I22 Hi '36 I38 I24 I28126 I30 LEVELLAN D. BROOKER & FLOY L. MORRISON INVENTORS.

United States Patent 3 246,397 METHOD AND MEANS FOR CGLGR ENGRAVING Levellan D. Brooker and Floy L. Morrison, both of 2118 E. 8th St., Odessa, Tex. Filed June 16, 1964, Ser. No. 376,613 Claims. (Cl. 33-18) This application is a continuation-in-part of our previous application Serial No. 289,061 filed June 19, 1963.

This invention relates to engraving and more particularly, to ornamental metal engraving in color.

Much engraving is done on metal plates which are attached to plaques, cups, other trophies, etc. These trophies are often given as prizes for athletic contests and events, or the plaques are given for appreciation of service in civic endeavors, etc. Although the trophy may be made of wood or stone, generally a metal plate of brass or bronze is attached to it, which is engraved. If the engraving is plain, the inscription does not show up too distinctly. Therefore, it is often desirable to color the engraving. Under present practice this is done by wiping the surface with a coloring fluid which reacts with the raw metal exposed in the cut so that it turns black. The excess fluid is wiped from the metal plate so that engraving appears as black lines. As a matter of common practice, the metal plate is protected with a coating (such as varnish) so that the entire surface can be wiped and the metal is exposed only where it has been engraved.

According to this invention, we have discovered that this coloring may be done at the same time it is engraved by providing a felt or spongy tip which surrounds the point of the engraving instrument. The felt is moistened with the coloring fluid and some of the moisture extends down the surface of the metal. Also, we have had the best results by having the surface of the felt contact the surface of the metal being engraved.

An object of this invention is to provide method and means for producing colored engraving.

Another object of this invention is to moisten a sharp pointed pen. Further objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy, compact, durable, simple, versatile, and reliable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture and operate.

Still further objects are to achieve the above with a method that is rapid, inexpensive, and easy for inexperienced, unskilled people to perform.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, the different views of which are not necessarily to the same scale, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an attachment used to practice this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional View of the attachment showing the holder for the engraving instrument to which the attachment would be connected.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an attachment used to practice this invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the second embodiment taken on plane 44 of FIG. 3, showing the attachment attached to a different type engraving pen.

As may be seen in FIG. 2, this invention is particularly applicable to sharp pointed engraving instrument or pen 10 which is held in a holder 12 so that it may be guided from a template. The pen 10 may be held in the holder 12 by set screw, clamp jaws, or otherwise as is common to the art. The holder 12 is threaded 3,246,397 Patented Apr. 19, 1966 ice at 14 on its lower outside portion, for the purpose under previous practice of attaching a sleeve thereto to guide and stabilize the pen 10 on the lower portion thereof.

Engraving by this type device is well known. The pen 10 is transversed over the surface of the metal to be engraved with some pressure on it. Ordinarily the pen is not rotated but in some machines it is. Ordinarily the pen is not vibrated against the surface to be engraved. The pen has no heat applied to it. The metal is engraved by a process that might variously be defined as cutting, scratching, or carving.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the metallic stabilizer which would be attached to the threads 14- of the holder 12 is removed and discarded. In its stead, fluid reservoir 16 is attached by threading onto the threads 14. The reservoir 16 has a generally conical outside configuration with the apex of the cone pointed downward. The top is flat cover :18. Cuff extends upward from the cover 18 and has internal threads which are correlative to and mate with the threads 14 thus being means for attaching the reservoir to the holder 12. Coaxially with the reservoir 16, tube 22 extends the length of the reservoir. The pen 10 is telescoped within the tube 22. Thus the tube 22 serves the dual function of isolating the pen 10 from the fluid within the reservoir 16 and also it stabilizes or braces the pen 10 in operation. The above structure might also be described as a tube 22 with a fluid container surrounding the tube.

Threaded boss 24 is coaxial with the reservoir 16 and extends from the lower surface thereof thus being an extension of tube 22. Annular retaining cap 26- is screwed onto the threaded boss 24. The cap 26 has hole 28 in the lower surface of it for the passage of the point of the pen 10 and for the protrudence of pad 30 The bottom of the boss 24 has protruding, conical portion 3-2 to cause the pad 30 to extend in .a downward, ball-like convex arcuate configuration around the point 34 of the pen 10. Two holes 3-5 extend vertically downward from the fluid portion of the reservoir 16 to the pad 30. Filling tube 36 extends through the cover 1'8 for replenishing the supply of the fluid within the reservoir. It is closed by plug 3 8.

In operation, the pad '30 brushes lightly over the metal material being engraved. This light brushing plus some moisture, which by surface tension clings to the pen 10 and extends down to the point 34, causes the metal which is exposed by the cuitting action of the point 34- to be colored. The type fluid to be placed within the reservoir 16 to color the metal is well known to the art and commercially available; therefore, its composition will not be described herein. As stated previously, in general practice the material will be protected by a coating, and will not be colored except where the coating is removed by the action of the pen 10'.

This embodiment is described using felt for the pad 39. However, it will be understood that other spongy material could be used. By spongy, we mean material which is soft and absorbent, elastic and porous, and of an open, loose, and pliable texture. Synthetic cellular materials are examples of spongy materials which are suitable.

Now referring to the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, it may be seen that in this instance, the attachment is designed to be attached to a pen which has an upper portion 1 12 of large diameter and a lower portion 114 of smaller diameter. Pens of this type are well known and commercially available and many (machines in use today have this type pen.

'The attachment has fluid reservoir 116 with cap or cover-118 thereover. The cap is readily removable for filling the reservoir 116 with fluid to color the engraved lines. The attachment has a collar or cuff 120 which forms a snug, frictional fit about the upper portion 112 of the pen 1110. This is the sole connection and point of attachment of the color attachment to the pen 110.

The attachment has a tubular portion or tube 122 which loosely surrounds the lower portion 114 of the pen 110. The attachment (excepting the cover 118 and 122) is a single integral unit made from synthetic material such as nylon. The reservoir 11 6 is formed by drilling a hole within the single block of material as is the cult 120. The tube .122 is mounted upon the end of arm 124 which is carved from the integral block. The bottom flat face of the tube 122 has a cylindrical notch cut out from the lower face thereof. Band shaped ring 126 has the same inside diameter as the inside diameter of the tube 122. Therefore, when the band 126 is bonded inplace within the notch in the tube 122, it forms annular groove 128 within the lower face of the tube 122. A band of synthetic cellular material 130 (plastic foam) is inserted within the annular groove 128. In this instance the cellular materi-al 130 is a spongy material as defined above; Before the cellular material 130 has been forced within the groove 128, it has a thickness greater than the thickness of the groove and therefore, after it is fed in, the material flulfs out so that it practically covers the point 134 of the pen 110. The excess cellular material 130 is cut away so that the configuration is that seen in FIG. 4 which is basically a protrusion trom the bottom of the tube 122. The bottom of .the pad of material 130 is about even with the point 134 .so that when the point 134 is engraving metal the pad conduit 136 in the form of a drill hole which extends from the reservoir 116 through the arm 124 to the cellular material 130. Wick 138 extends through the conduit 136 to maintain the cellular material in a moist condition. As shown in the drawing, the wick 138 extends -from the conduit 136 to the groove 128 and is placed at the top or" the groove 128 to feed liquid in small amounts to that circle. We have found that the wick is more satisfactory to feed the fluid from the reservoir to the pad than capillary tubes.

It will be noted that the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 is adapted to fit almost any type machine. If the machine does not have a pen shaped as pen 110 with a large upper diameter portion 112; an adapter may be threaded or fitted onto any other type machine which will have an element which the collar .120 can snugly surround with a frictional fit to hold the attachment thereto.

Although the attachment may be made of any material, it is indicated to be made of a synthetic material and we have found it quite suitable for the attachment to be formed of nylon.

It will be apparent that the embodiments shown are only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction, materials, and arrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A system for engraving and simultaneously coloring the engraved line comprising:

(a) a holder to be moved to describe a desired pattern upon a piece of material,

(b) a sharp pointed pen securely attached to said holder,

(c) a spongy pad attached to said holder,

(d) said spongy pad surrounding and contacting the pen adjacent to the point, and

(e) means for maintaining the spongy pad in a moist condition with a color producing liquid.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein (f) the material being marked is metal and wherein (g) said spongy pad contacts lightly the metal while the sharp pointed pen engraves.

3. The method of engraving metal and simultaneously coloring the engraved line comp-rising:

(a) engraving the metal with a sharp pointed instrument, and

(b) simultaneously with the engraving, contacting lightly the surfiace of the metal in the engraving area with a spongy pad which is moistened with a color producing liquid.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 with the additional step of (c) wiping the metal clean upon the completion of the engraving process.

5. In an engraving system having:

(a) a holder, and

(b) a sharp pointed engraving pen securely attached to said holder, the improvement comprising in combination:

(c) a fluid reservoir attached to said holder,

(d) said fluid reservoir surrounding said pen,

(c) said fluid reservoir including a tube which extends coaxially therethrough,

(f) said pen telescoped through said tube,

(g) a spongy pad over the lower tip of the tube,

(h) the point only of said pen extending through said spongy pad,

(i) an anular retaining cap coaxial with said tube attached to same to hold said spongy pad in place, and

(i) said reservoir having holes extending from the fluid carrying portion thereof to the spongy pad to keep the spongy pad moistened.

6. A fluid reservoir adapted (a) to be attached to a holder which has (b) a sharp pointed pen attached thereto, comprising:

(c) a tube adapted to have said pen telescoped therethrough,

(d) a container surrounding said tube thus forming said fluid reservoir,

(e) means on top of the container for attaching the reservoir to the holder,

(f) means for filling the container with fluid,

(g) said tube extending downward through the container forming a boss at the lower side of the reservoir,

(h) a spongy pad over the lower end of the boss,

(i) holes extending through the boss from the container to the spongy pad, and

(j) an annular cap on the boss retaining the spongy pad in place, so arranged and constructed that the sharp point of the pen is adapted to extend through the spongy pad,

7. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said spongy pad is felt.

8. An attachment for engraving machines having (a) a sharp pointed engraving pen,

(b) means for moving the pen over engraved, comprising:

(c) a fluid reservoir,

(d) means attached to the reservoir for supporting the reservoir above the metal to be engraved,

(e) a spongy pad,

(f) means attached to the spongy pad for attaching the pad around the pen point v (g) a conduit from the reservoir to the spongy pad for feeding liquid to the pad to maintain it moist.

9. The invention as defined in claim 8 with the addition of (h) a wick within the conduit to regulate the flow of liquid from the reservoir to the spongy pad.

the metal to be 5 6 10. A system for engraving and simultaneously color- ReferencesCited by the Examiner ing the engraved line comprising: UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 35 1? g x gfi mounted movement over 2,095,116 10/1937 Albin 33- 27 (b) a spongy pad r 5 2,551,953 5/1951 Larson 33-25 (0) means attached to the spongy pad for attaching it FOREIGN PATENTS around the sharp pointed pen, and 13,539 1899 Great Britain ((1) means attached to the spongy pad for maintaining 153 0 4 1 0 Great Britain the spongy pad in a moist condition With a color producing liquid. 10 ISAAC LISANN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SYSTEM FOR ENGRAVING AND SIMULTANEOUSLY COLORING THE ENGRAVED LINE COMPRISING: (A) A HOLDER TO BE MOVED TO DESCRIBE A DESIRED PATTERN UPON A PIECE OF MATERIAL, (B) A SHARP POINTED PEN SECURELY ATTACHED TO SAID HOLDER, (C) A SPONGY PAD ATTACHED TO SAID HOLDER, (D) SAID SPONGY PAD SURROUNDING AND CONTACTING THE PEN ADJACENT TO THE POINT, AND (E) MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE SPONGY PAD IN A MOIST CONDITION WITH A COLOR PRODUCING LIQUID. 